PA Small Business Week

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) celebrates Small Business Week April 30-May 6 by highlighting the contributions of small businesses to our communities and economy. DCED, which supports the Ben Franklin Technology Partners, presents resources supporting current and future entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses.

Entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses bring new ideas, tools, technology, and jobs to Pennsylvania, creating opportunities throughout our state. We are home to one million small businesses that together employ 2.5 million.

Pennsylvania small businesses created nearly 24,000 new jobs in the second half of 2015. Nearly 90% of PA exporters were smaller firms, which generated almost one-third of total PA exports in 2014.

Small businesses fill a critical role in the Pennsylvania economy by:

· contributing to our economic diversity
· commercializing innovative new technologies
· employing nearly half of our private sector workforce, and
· accounting for more than 99 percent of all employers in the state